5 ms·

I wouldn't assume that this is about cost cutting. If the goal were saving money, the cheapest option by far would be to leave the hardware in the water and jus

I wouldn't assume that this is about cost cutting. If the goal were saving money, the cheapest option by far would be to leave the hardware in the water and just stop funding the monitoring. Instead the plan is an expensive operation to send ships out to extract 900+ instruments from under two miles of ocean. It's clear that this is driven by performative climate denialism and a pro fossil fuel stance. The Trump administration made a billion dollar deal with an energy company to stop construction of offshore wind farms and redirect the investment into fossil fuel projects. Trump constantly talks about the "green new scam" and "climate alarmism". And on top of signaling to his base, Trump met with oil executives at Mar-a-Lago before the 2024 election and pitched them on rolling back climate regulation in exchange for $1B in campaign cash. Destroying the instruments that would document the consequences and might spark alarm and activism is one way to hold up his end of the deal.

wyldfire 4mo ago
The crazy thing is that the oil companies confessed to a misinformation campaign and at least publicly talked about change/reform (of course, they're still oil exploration/refinement companies so not abandoning that). But they did discuss responsible use of fossil fuels in transition towards renewables. But Trump was fooled and is more committed than ever to the since-abandoned misinformation campaign. It took on a bigger life than Exxon ever could've imagined. The snowflakiest of them all - they can't handle unbiased readings from instruments that survey our planet.
- Animats 4mo ago
  The Mauna Loa CO2 data is still up.[1] Trump tried to kill off the CO2 measuring, but that doesn't seem to have happened. The Mauna Loa data goes back to 1958, measured at the same point, far from any CO2 sources. 315ppm in 1958, 441ppm today, and almost a noise free curve with mild seasonal variations. Clearest trend in global warming. [1] https://gml.noaa.gov/webdata/ccgg/trends/co2/co2_mm_mlo.txt https://gml.noaa.gov/webdata/ccgg/trends/co2/co2_mm_mlo.txt [2] https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/01/climate/trump-cuts-mauna-loa-keeling https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/01/climate/trump-cuts-mauna-loa-...
  - deleted 4mo ago
    [deleted]
- kelnos 4mo ago
  I don't think Trump was "fooled" by anything. His policy positions reflect what makes him and his cronies money, and what keeps him in power. That's it. He doesn't care about truth or correctness. Just money and power.
  - Terr_ 4mo ago
    I submit that the "is malice or incompetence" heuristic can be broken by pathological inputs which result in an indefinite runtime, and that we've encountered some of them in the last decade. The correct response when that happens is to say "both" until/unless the perpetrators want to plead just one or the other.
port11 4mo ago
But… why? Climate change is very much real and even stubborn deep-right voters like my father now ‘believe’ in it. Ok, some people make some cash. But wouldn’t they anyway? I don’t understand this need to keep pandering to a minority and to destroy ecosystems.
- dozerly 4mo ago
  Which part of trump making billions of dollars from oil oligarchs is the confusing bit? His incentive structure is clear.
  - kakacik 4mo ago
    [dead]
- kelnos 4mo ago
  Many deep-right voters do not believe in climate change. They're a big part of Trump's base.
  - conartist6 4mo ago
    You don't need a chart these days. I live in Boulder Colorado, and I can't imagine that we'll have more than 10 more ski seasons.
    - cmxch 4mo ago
      Upside - Aspen loses it’s arrogant environmentalists and it starts mining silver again.
      - estearum 4mo ago
        Wow yeah such a great upside! Eradicating species, destroying economies, and eliminating entire ways to enjoy nature's bounty here on earth –– a small price to pay to hurr hur hurrr... own the libs ;) The DSM needs to be updated soon for this type of sociopathic cynicism. It can't be kept with the rest of society.
vasco 4mo ago
To be honest this sounds more like an excuse and cover for having a bunch of ships and submarines in places they'd normally wouldn't be at.
peterbecich 4mo ago
That cheapest option may not be the cheapest option in the long-term when the next Democratic president would re-activate the devices. Same reasoning as removal of many post office boxes in last days of Trump 1 term.
- throwaway173738 4mo ago
  The post boxes were more about crippling mail-in votes. In Washington Bill De Joy had at one point dismantled several of the sorting machines which dramatically slowed how fast mail gets dispatched. The result was that you could no longer mail your vote the day before election day and have it arrive on election day.
taffydavid 4mo ago
I don't believe Trump himself makes any of these decisions, and as for deals I don't think he remembers what happened yesterday let alone a deal made on the campaign trail. Parties in his administration are actively trying to destroy science and cripple any kind of climate research or green energy development, even if it costs nothing. Whoever they are, they make these plans and then get him to sign while he's awake.
- benzible 4mo ago
  Of course. Trump isn't aware of "details" like this. But he's very much on board with the "own the libs" project, the project of helping fossil fuel, and he appointed the people who are making it happen. Although with Trump, it's more specific than "owning the libs": a clear motivating force is undoing anything Obama did or that was around on his watch. Pulling out of the JPOA agreement Obama made with Iran, then launching a war at the price of tanking the global economy which best case will result in a pale imitation of the JPOA (along with a much stronger and richer Iran), is only the latest example.
Eddy_Viscosity2 4mo ago
Remove the source of evidence and its easier to deny the claim.
leonidasrup 4mo ago
Quid pro quo Oil industry pays and Trump delivers. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/09/trump-asks-oil-executives-campaign-finance-00157131 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/09/trump-asks-oil-exec...

wyldfire 4mo ago

The crazy thing is that the oil companies confessed to a misinformation campaign and at least publicly talked about change/reform (of course, they're still oil exploration/refinement companies so not abandoning that). But they did discuss responsible use of fossil fuels in transition towards renewables. But Trump was fooled and is more committed than ever to the since-abandoned misinformation campaign. It took on a bigger life than Exxon ever could've imagined. The snowflakiest of them all - they can't handle unbiased readings from instruments that survey our planet.

Animats 4mo ago
The Mauna Loa CO2 data is still up.[1] Trump tried to kill off the CO2 measuring, but that doesn't seem to have happened. The Mauna Loa data goes back to 1958, measured at the same point, far from any CO2 sources. 315ppm in 1958, 441ppm today, and almost a noise free curve with mild seasonal variations. Clearest trend in global warming. [1] https://gml.noaa.gov/webdata/ccgg/trends/co2/co2_mm_mlo.txt https://gml.noaa.gov/webdata/ccgg/trends/co2/co2_mm_mlo.txt [2] https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/01/climate/trump-cuts-mauna-loa-keeling https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/01/climate/trump-cuts-mauna-loa-...
- deleted 4mo ago
  [deleted]
kelnos 4mo ago
I don't think Trump was "fooled" by anything. His policy positions reflect what makes him and his cronies money, and what keeps him in power. That's it. He doesn't care about truth or correctness. Just money and power.
- Terr_ 4mo ago
  I submit that the "is malice or incompetence" heuristic can be broken by pathological inputs which result in an indefinite runtime, and that we've encountered some of them in the last decade. The correct response when that happens is to say "both" until/unless the perpetrators want to plead just one or the other.

port11 4mo ago

But… why? Climate change is very much real and even stubborn deep-right voters like my father now ‘believe’ in it. Ok, some people make some cash. But wouldn’t they anyway? I don’t understand this need to keep pandering to a minority and to destroy ecosystems.

dozerly 4mo ago
Which part of trump making billions of dollars from oil oligarchs is the confusing bit? His incentive structure is clear.
- kakacik 4mo ago
  [dead]
kelnos 4mo ago
Many deep-right voters do not believe in climate change. They're a big part of Trump's base.
- conartist6 4mo ago
  You don't need a chart these days. I live in Boulder Colorado, and I can't imagine that we'll have more than 10 more ski seasons.
  - cmxch 4mo ago
    Upside - Aspen loses it’s arrogant environmentalists and it starts mining silver again.
    - estearum 4mo ago
      Wow yeah such a great upside! Eradicating species, destroying economies, and eliminating entire ways to enjoy nature's bounty here on earth –– a small price to pay to hurr hur hurrr... own the libs ;) The DSM needs to be updated soon for this type of sociopathic cynicism. It can't be kept with the rest of society.

vasco 4mo ago

To be honest this sounds more like an excuse and cover for having a bunch of ships and submarines in places they'd normally wouldn't be at.

peterbecich 4mo ago

That cheapest option may not be the cheapest option in the long-term when the next Democratic president would re-activate the devices. Same reasoning as removal of many post office boxes in last days of Trump 1 term.

throwaway173738 4mo ago
The post boxes were more about crippling mail-in votes. In Washington Bill De Joy had at one point dismantled several of the sorting machines which dramatically slowed how fast mail gets dispatched. The result was that you could no longer mail your vote the day before election day and have it arrive on election day.

taffydavid 4mo ago

I don't believe Trump himself makes any of these decisions, and as for deals I don't think he remembers what happened yesterday let alone a deal made on the campaign trail. Parties in his administration are actively trying to destroy science and cripple any kind of climate research or green energy development, even if it costs nothing. Whoever they are, they make these plans and then get him to sign while he's awake.

benzible 4mo ago
Of course. Trump isn't aware of "details" like this. But he's very much on board with the "own the libs" project, the project of helping fossil fuel, and he appointed the people who are making it happen. Although with Trump, it's more specific than "owning the libs": a clear motivating force is undoing anything Obama did or that was around on his watch. Pulling out of the JPOA agreement Obama made with Iran, then launching a war at the price of tanking the global economy which best case will result in a pale imitation of the JPOA (along with a much stronger and richer Iran), is only the latest example.

Eddy_Viscosity2 4mo ago

Remove the source of evidence and its easier to deny the claim.

leonidasrup 4mo ago

Quid pro quo Oil industry pays and Trump delivers. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/09/trump-asks-oil-executives-campaign-finance-00157131 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/09/trump-asks-oil-exec...